Dimitri Peteves and Bryan Gowdy successfully defended a jury verdict in a products-liability case that awarded the plaintiff $1,050,000 in compensatory damages and $2,500,000 in punitive damages. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of defendant's motion for a new trial and defendant's motion for judgment as a matter of law on the issue of punitive damages. The case concerned a metal-on-metal hip-replacement device, which the jury determined was defectively designed.
To read the opinion, click here.
The 29th edition of The Best Lawyers in America® has been released, and three Creed & Gowdy, P.A. attorneys have been named.
Rebecca Creed and Bryan Gowdy were named for the Appellate Practice category, while D. Gray Thomas, of counsel, was named for Appellate Practice, Criminal Defense: General Practice and Criminal Defense: White-Collar.
Inclusion in Best Lawyers is based on a rigorous peer-review survey comprising more than 12.2 million confidential evaluations by top attorneys. Only the top 5.3% of all practicing lawyers in the U.S. were selected by their peers for inclusion.
On appeal from the trial court's verbatim adoption of Former Husband's proposed judgment, Rebecca Creed secured a victory for our client, Former Wife. The trial court misclassified and misvalued the parties' assets and liabilities in favor of Former Husband, unequally distributed those assets and liabilities again in favor of Former Husband, and then denied Former Wife's requests for alimony and attorney's fees.
While counsel for Former Husband argued that the lopsided distribution was within the trial court's power to do equity, the First District Court of Appeal disagreed. The Court ruled that the trial court should have considered and correctly applied "the steps outlined in the dissolution statute" before deciding to unequally divide assets and liabilities. The case was reversed on every issue and remanded to the trial court.
To read the opinion, click here.
The First District Court of Appeal recently ruled in favor of Creed & Gowdy's client, Shaun Murphy. After his former wife filed a petition in Florida to clarify and enforce a 1999 out-of-state dissolution judgment, Mr. Murphy-a North Carolina resident-moved to dismiss the action for lack of personal jurisdiction. Although the trial court denied Mr. Murphy's motion, the First District reversed. Finding that the record lacked any basis to support jurisdiction over the former husband, the Court agreed with Creed & Gowdy that denial of the motion to dismiss was legal error. The First District instructed the trial court, on remand, to dismiss the former wife's petition. Rebecca Creed briefed the appeal.
Read the opinion here.
The Super Lawyers list for 2022 has been released, and four Creed & Gowdy, P.A. attorneys have been named.
Rebecca Creed and Bryan Gowdy have been Top-Rated Appellate Attorneys in Florida for over 12 years. This year, Rebecca and Bryan were both ranked Top 100 Florida Super Lawyers for 2022, while Rebecca was also named as one of the Top 50 Women Super Lawyers in Florida. And, the two have been ranked in the Top 25 Jacksonville Super Lawyers for 2022. These lists consist of the top-rated attorneys, as evaluated by peer recognition and professional achievement, in their areas of practice.
Thomas A. Burns, of counsel, was selected as a Top-Rated Appellate Attorney in Tampa for 2022 for the fourth year in a row.
D. Gray Thomas, of counsel, was selected as a Top-Rated Criminal Defense Attorney in Jacksonville. Gray has been a Top-Rated Criminal Defense Attorney for the last seven years.
Selection to Super Lawyers is limited to a small number of attorneys. Creed & Gowdy is proud of our attorneys' continuous peer recognition and professional achievements!